Big news on the clear cut front.
My two major piles -- to Goodwill and the dump -- are finally out of the house. That is the Goodwill pile at the top of this post.
I finally decided the easiest (and quickest) solution was to hire a small U-Haul truck. I estimated two trips. And that is what it took. Too full loads.
What you see in the photograph is only about half of the Goodwill load. It was a big mix. Almost everything could have been flogged in a garage sale -- or with lots of eBay activity.
I had neither the time nor the inclination. In fact, if I had all the time in the world, I would not have had the inclination.
That pile was teamed up with hundreds of pounds of vinyl records (a collection I began when I was in grade school), an expensive turntable, several lamps, two brass storage cubes (I had the good sense never to op them with a bridge of glass and pretend it was a coffee table), and about nine filing cabinets from my old law practice.
There were lots of memories in the pile. But after four years of not using any of the items, it felt rather good to watch it all go.
The second trip was to the dump. For all of the items that were still useful to someone, there were plenty of things that should have been thrown away years ago. If I lived in Mexico, most of it would have been used for another purpose. But it was the type of stuff that even Goodwill would not take.
This cleanup has turned out to be rather serendipitous. I had a couple of items in the basement that were not suited for either Goodwill or the dump. The guy who mows my lawn stopped by as we were getting ready to head to the dump. I asked him if he knew anyone who could help on my unaccomplished tasks.
He volunteered. By the time we returned from the dump, everything was out of the basement.
So, here is what happens next. The piano will be shipped to Portland on Monday. On Tuesday, the cleaning team arrives for two and a half days of spruce up. On Thursday, the house will be listed.
And Saturday will find me back in Melaque. Waiting for the vagaries of the housing market to seal a deal.
A lot of work. And, I certainly hope, worth the effort.
Did all this 6 years ago when we sold 80 acres and casa (and outbuildings) in Colorado - STUFF - and still have a small house in New Mexico STUFFED with what I could not part with - that is slowly going away too - feels good! Congrats for the scale back!
ReplyDeleteIt takes time to empty a house. But as John said, it's just STUFF. Glad you parted with a lot of things. It makes living easier, I think.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to note the differences between people. I've never been an accumulator. To have this quantity of possessions would drive me nuts. It apparently did not drive you nuts, but I congratulate you on lightening your life load.
ReplyDeleteLiberating is the word I would -- and did -- use. All I own will soon be with me in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can now get on with my new life. There is the essence of a good sermon buried there.
ReplyDeleteWhat did your gardener do with the bodies in the basement?
ReplyDeleteWow! Quite impressive! I've been chipping away at the edges of the junk I own, but a lot of it I don't want to get rid of. For example, I own a lot of power tools that I seldom use. However, I use them once in a while, and sooner or later I'd want them back if I ever got rid of them. Unfortunately, they also tend to take up a lot of space, particularly things like table saws, lawn mowers, snow blowers, leaf shredders, etc. If I ever move to Mexico and sell my house, I think I'll include the yard equipment in the sale. But I can't be separated from my tools. Too useful.
ReplyDeleteThen I have a lot of boxes that things came in. If I ever move, I figure the boxes will be handy to move things in. Right now, they mostly live in the attic.
But where I'm going to have real problems is with things like books. Now if my book collection somehow vanished spontaneously in the night, I'd probably not really notice. Most of the tomes don't ever get looked at. But I like having them around, and have always wondered about people who have no books in the house.
Still, the above notwithstanding, I do need to trim down.
You have set a good example. Sort of, at least. I suppose four years later is better than never. LOL....
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we have at least organized the garage in the last few months.
I haven't parted with my power tools, yet. They are still in the basement. But they will be gone when the house sells. They are too heavy to take south with me. And it makes as much sense for me to hire a handyman to do the things I would do with my tools.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I thought losing my books would be painful. All of my paperbacks went to Goodwill yesterday. I kept the hardbound books merely for staging. Almost all of them will find a new home when the house sells.
In one sense, I feel as if I have gone through the cleansing of bankruptcy. It is an opportunity for me to reinvent myself without an anchor of stuff. (Good grief! I am starting to sound like one of those "we don't watch television" people.)
P.S. What's the status of real estate SOB? Did you get the "narco compound?" Or are you (still?) in negotiations?
ReplyDeleteI am between you and Felipe. I have realized having "lots of stuff" actually agitates me but life in the states with kids has "accumulation" attached.
ReplyDeleteSo I am aware of the situation, try to accumulate less and realize I am not always successful.
I could not imagine what it would be like to have kids added on top of what I have done on my own.
ReplyDeleteOn hold. I have spent almost all of my down payment money getting the Salem house fit for sale. Leaving it for four years has had its own costs.
ReplyDeleteWhat is a 'blackroom'? Is it a form of segregation?
ReplyDelete